As Rams HC Sean McVay smiles at a 6.5 win projection, trouble brews for the rest of the NFL

The missing secret ingredient from the LA Rams 2022 NFL season that stood out to me was the fact that nobody was having any fun. And the lack of fun boiled over from the bench to the football. That was tough to watch because the game of football is still just a game. And yet, the Rams' lack of success continued to show in the way the players, and the coaches, ground their gears beyond the point of no return.

The Rams did not seem to have any fun in 2022 until the Mayfield Miracle, when a Rams team showed up on Thursday Night Football, winning a game that ESPN Win Probability had calculated less than 2 shots in 100 chances of accomplishing. Still, the momentum for the LA Rams pivoted from desperation to enjoyment on that day.

In short, football was suddenly fun again.

It was no longer about just wins and losses. The Rams would only go on to win one more game after that miraculous comeback. But in that game, LA Rams head coach Sean McVay would begin to regain his love for the game of football.

Beware a smiling Sean, NFL

Nothing replaces the sheer joy of hoisting the NFL Lombardi Trophy after the end of a long and grueling campaign to be the best in the NFL. But there are other joys embedded in the game as well. There is the sheer euphoria of an upset win, a victory that comes from nowhere when everyone says it could never happen. That is what the LA Rams team faces this entire season.

And LA Rams head coach Sean McVay is having none of it.

You can see that Coach McVay is smoldering when confronted about the projections for his team to do no better than 6.5 wins this season. Just check out his body language as he opens the discussion. He is leaning forward and really determined when addressing that 6.5 win projection:

It's not until he has the chance to elaborate on the Rams potential for the upcoming 2023 season that he begins to relax, sit back in his chair, and begins to use his natural hand gestures. But the telltale sign is his smirk, that snarky smile that is a clear sign of someone who knows something that the rest of the NFL doesn't.

When the LA Rams pulled off the Mayfield Miracle, perhaps nobody needed that more than LA Rams head coach Sean McVay. A band of injured and distraught NFL professionals, down by double digits and led by a quarterback who had just stepped off an airplane hours before, won a game on Prime Time with few stars.

Suddenly, NFL football was no longer about wins or the scores.
It was not about fans or stuff bought at the store.
Perhaps, NFL football was a little bit more.

And then something happened in the city of L.A.
Something transformed in ole' head coach McVay.
Just like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, LA Rams head coach Sean McVay's heart grew three sizes that day.

And in that moment of that miraculous win
LA Rams head coach McVay loved his football again

I don't know about Whoville. But I believe that LA Rams fans are going to love how this story turns out.